Sandstorm
by Asp
Summary: Set after The End Of Days - Angel is granted his Shanshu, but the results are far from what anyone expected. Part 3 posted
1. Default Chapter

Title: Sandstorm  
  
Author: Asp  
  
Email: brdf@sympatico.ca  
  
Distribution: You want it, take it. Just let me know where it's going  
  
Disclaimer: Joss et all owns em - not me.  
  
Rating: PG Though with dark undertones  
  
Spoilers: Future-ish fic. Set just after The End Of Days. Mentions the occurrences of Buffy season 7/Angel season 4  
  
Summary: After the End Of Days, Angel is granted his Shanshu - though the results are highly different from what any of them expected.  
  
Sandstorm  
  
by Asp  
  
They were the only ones left in the chamber, the others were either dead or had stumbled out into the cool night air.  
  
"Well, we did it," Buffy stated, exhaustion slurring her words.  
  
Shuffling towards her, his left arm badly cut, Angel pulled her in close with his right. "Yeah, it's over. The First and his minions won't be bothering the world anymore."  
  
Buffy rested her head into his good shoulder and closed her eyes. "I love you, Angel. I've never stopped, but it's impossible. We both know we can't be together."  
  
"I know," Angel sighed. "I'll be going back to LA tomorrow night."  
  
Just then she felt him stiffen, causing her to lift her head and turn around.  
  
"There will be no need for that, Champion. We have found you to be a true warrior, and thus your reward is now offered. You know of which I speak."  
  
Buffy and Angel just stared up at the luminescent form floating above them. "What does it mean?" Buffy asked Angel.  
  
"Shanshu."  
  
"Huh? What's that?"  
  
The Higher being answered for him. "Shanshu is our reward for the Champion succeeding in his mission, with all of the sacrifices we have forced him to make. With it, he will sacrifice no more."  
  
Angel looked down at the woman in his arms. "As far as I've been able to figure from reading the scrolls, Shanshu is a mystic power to turn me human again, binding me to the mortal plane."  
  
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Could it really be? We could be together?"  
  
"Yes, Slayer. We have forced enough turmoil into both your lives over the past several years to make you stronger, to allow you to cope with all that would come before you. You have both proven worthy, so the decision has been made to offer the reward. Champion, do not forget, there will be sacrifices for you to make for this also. You will no longer have your vampire strength. You will no longer be a Champion. You will just be a man, much as you were before the fateful night when you were sired."  
  
He looked from the being to the woman his soul loved. She gave a weak smile and nodded once. He stepped away from her and spoke. "I am ready. I accept the Shanshu."  
  
Immediately, his body was engulfed in brilliant blue flames. His eyes closed, his hands shooting up to cover his face. Then the screams began. They echoed throughout the chamber, causing Buffy to want to run to him, knowing there was nothing she could do, but wait, and trust in this being not to kill the man she loved. Angel's body rose into the air, rotating slowly, the screams never dying, each one building atop the one before, until the chamber walls themselves seemed to scream in reply. Finally the flames extinguished, the body fell to the floor. Buffy ran to him, kneeling beside, trying to help him to stand.  
  
Shaking her hand off, he stood to his full height, saying, "I dinna need your help."  
  
She just stared. She'd never hear the Irish brogue before. "Angel?" she inquired tentatively.  
  
"Nay," came the reply. "Tha' was the name me demon chose for itself. Me name now is Liam, as it was before."  
  
"Li-Liam? Do you remember anything?"  
  
"Are ye daft woman? O' course I remember. I remember the fool of a demon finding one such as yourself to be beautiful, of the soul, that was naugh' me own, falling in love wit' you, and of the sacrifices made so it could be wit' you. Thank God, tis me controlling my own body now, so I dinna have to look at you're face anymore."  
  
"B-but, Angel!" she nearly wailed. She fell to her knees, the shock of the moment, the impact of the words hitting like fists into her already exhausted body. She couldn't take any more. She crumpled.  
  
Liam looked down at her, smiled and walked out. The others, waiting outside tried to stop him, to congratulate him, but he walked past. First order of business, his mind said, find a good pub. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Buffy! What happened? Where'd Angel go?" Willow's words rushed forth in a torrent, almost incomprehensible. To Buffy's ears, they were. Her eyes stared blankly, the muscles of her face slack.  
  
Wes looked up at the Being floating above them all. "What's happened here? What have you done to Angel?"  
  
The rest of the group stopped and looked to the Being, awaiting its answer. "We rewarded our Champion, by performing the ritual of Shanshu. It did not have the expected result."  
  
"What do you mean, 'not the expected result.' You made him human, his soul bound, the demon banished," Wesley said in irritation.  
  
"You have to understand, this ritual has never actually been performed before. It does not exactly bind the soul, as return the recipient to his original state."  
  
"So, that means that he's completely human, like he was before Darla sired him," Wesley continued, not understanding the semantics. "His soul is locked in place. He's human."  
  
"Apparently the Romanian Gypsies when restoring his soul made a mistake."  
  
Xander stared in disbelief. "What kind of mistake?" Not that he cared much for Angel, but he did for Buffy, and whatever happened here had taken a horrible toll on her.  
  
"I have said enough," and with that, the Being dissipated.  
  
"You know, I really hate it when they do that crap," Xander stated.  
  
Helping Buffy to her feet, Willow said, "Guys, I think we better get her home. She seems a little catatonic." Gunn lifted her in his arms and carried her out the door, the rest following behind, all thoughts of celebration purged from their minds.  
  
***  
  
Ah, a celebratory place this, Liam thought as he walked through the doors of the club. He checked his pockets, making sure he had money, which he did, then went straight for the bar. "Glen Fiddich," was all he said.  
  
The bartender looked at him oddly. "The only whiskey I got is Jack's."  
  
"Fine, I'll take a double." While he waited for his drink, he looked around at the decor. There was a large circular stage with a chrome pole in the middle of it, and a large group of men sitting in the seats surrounding it. Odd place for a structural support, he thought. He grabbed the drink proffered by the tender, took a snort and choked. American's never did learn how to make a good whiskey. Music started throbbing from speakers placed throughout the bar, and the men around the stage started cheering. A woman came out and started moving sensuously with the music. Soon it became all too apparent what the pole was for. Me God's but how things have changed! Smiling crookedly he thought, I'll be lovin' this land, m' thinks.  
  
***  
  
In the darkened house, once Buffy had been put to bed, the surviving members of the two teams, sat in the kitchen. Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Giles, Xander, and Willow. Their two Champions were now out of commission.  
  
"How could this have happened? I mean, they were supposed to be rewarded after this. What went wrong?" Willow's voice was plaintive, full of pain for her friend.  
  
"Not much is known about the Shanshu," Giles started. "It is an ancient myth in Vampire lore, but that's all it was thought to be." Turning to Wes, he added, "How is it you came to know about it?"  
  
"A couple of years ago, Angel found a scroll in Wolfram & Hart's vault. He claimed it called out to him. When he brought it to the hotel, I immediately recognised it for what it was. It has the entire story of the Shanshu, but no real details."  
  
"Where's the scroll now?" Willow asked.  
  
"In LA, in the basement of the hotel. As I said though, it held no real information that I could discern."  
  
"Would you mind if we took a look at it?" Giles asked.  
  
"We'll go," Gunn put in, meaning he and Fred. Wesley told them the exact location and they left, promising to return in the morning.  
  
"We might as well get to sleep. I have the distinct feeling we won't be getting much until we have Angel back," Wes said.  
  
As they were climbing the stairs to the varied bedrooms, Willow said softly, "I wonder what he's doing now?"  
  
***  
  
"Get off the stage, man!" a large bouncer exclaimed as Liam jumped up beside the naked dancer.  
  
Leaning in close to the woman, he whispered, "Do ye do other things for money as well then?"  
  
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head close to her chest. When she knew he was completely distracted by her body, she raised her knee hard into his body, sending him backwards into the arms of the bouncer. Liam was infuriated. He spun on the bouncer, hitting him in the head with his fist, trying to knock him off the stage. The bouncer, hired because of his size and fighting ability, wasn't so easy a target. He rolled with the punch, moving back and sideways a step, then came swinging in with his own punch, aimed squarely at Liam's nose. Instinct kicked in for Liam, and he caught the bouncer's arm, and sent him flying into the dancer. They both crashed into the metal pole in the centre of the stage, the dancer taking the brunt of the hit. It would be enough to put her in a wheelchair. Liam, seeing his revenge exacted, walked calmly off the stage, people clearing a path for him as he strolled casually out of the club.  
  
So, he thought, I still have the demon's fighting instincts. An evil smile crossed his lips as he walked down the quiet street. 


	3. Chapter 3

The bar was a disaster. Stools were overturned, bottles and glasses broken everywhere, the dead and injured littering the floor. In the middle of chaos stood one man, a sly smile on his face, a bottle of whiskey in his left hand, held to his lips. He looked around him, looking for another person to fight.  
  
"COME TO ME!"  
  
"Who the Hell do tha' be?" Liam stumbles forward, bends down and lifts the head of one of his victims. "Was it you? Nay, I didna' think so."  
  
"COME TO ME, CHILDE!"  
  
Furiously Liam yells, "I am no man's child. Me parents are long dead. Now show your fucking self!"  
  
"IF YOU WANT TO SEE ME, CLOSE YOUR EYES, LISTEN TO MY VOICE. COME TO ME, AND I WILL REWARD YOU GREATLY."  
  
"Rewards are for the weak. I have already been rewarded. If ye want me, you can find me. I'll be takin' me leave now." Casually he strolled out the door, stepping over the bodies on his way.  
  
***  
  
"In my many years as a Watcher, I have never even heard of these scrolls, but they are fascinating," Giles said leaning over the parchments laid out in front of him. Gunn and Fred had just returned with them, and he was getting his first look.  
  
"What do they say about Angel is all I care about Giles," Buffy said as she came down the stairs. Find out what happened for me, please."  
  
The look on her face, the utter desolation there, the anguish, the pain were enough to force Giles beyond his capabilities, to do everything he could to help this girl he loved so much. "We'll need some time, Buffy, but we will get there. I promise you, we will find out what happened."  
  
With a flicker of a smile, Buffy replied, "Thanks. I know you will. I think I'm gonna go see if I can find him...talk to him."  
  
Xander walked up to her then, standing in front of her, looking at her sincerely. "Be careful, Buff. We don't know who, or what he is yet. He could be dangerous."  
  
Looking at him sharply, she responds, "I know that Xander. That's why I have to find him...he's dangerous. To himself, and maybe others."  
  
***  
  
Am I going mad? That voice wasna' anyone in that pub. It was naught me own thoughts. So who did it be? Stalking through the back streets, looking for a fight to release the frustration he was feeling, Liam walked with his head down, his shoulders slumped, ignoring those around him, hoping that someone would take him for easy prey.  
  
"YOU ARE MY PREY. YOU ARE MY EYES. YOU ARE MY CONTACT TO YOUR WORLD. NOW COME TO ME LIAM!"  
  
Closing his eyes, he stopped, breathed in deeply, relishing in the act. "Where do I go?" And he was told. And he shivered at the thought of what was speaking to him. He did not know for sure, only that it had great power. Power over him. "I shall start preparations in the morrow."  
  
***  
  
As Buffy walked, she could feel something watching her. She stops abruptly, turns around and looks up to see a pair of glowing yellow and violet eyes in the moon. As fast as she sees them, they disappear.  
  
"Well Pet, what brings you out on a night like this, now that you've defeated the Big Bad. I'd have thought you'd be with Angel."  
  
Whirling around, she flung herself into his chest. "Spike! You're alive. I saw you burn. Oh my God, Spike...," she crumples into his arms.  
  
Holding her, caressing her hair, he can feel her turmoil. "Buffy, it's okay . What's happened?"  
  
And she did, telling more to him than she had to the others. He felt pity and relief combined. Pity for what she had had to endure, relief that it wasn't him that had been shanshued. He had a soul, he had immortality. He didn't want to be merely human again. What a fool Angel had been to accept such a 'gift' as that.  
  
"I'll look for him, but Buffy, don't tell the others I'm back. I'll help you, but I'll be leaving right after. I'll not stay around to watch you and Angel together."  
  
Putting her hand flat against Spike's chest, Buffy looked up into his eyes, "Spike, I..." Shaking her head, she continues, "A few minutes ago, did you see weird eyes up in the moon?"  
  
Laughing, he gently pushes her away from him, a hand on each shoulder, looks down into her eyes, and says, "So, you saw the man in the moon did you?"  
  
*** 


End file.
